The Hold Steady streaming new album on Myspace

Stereogum"Stay Positive" is already racking up lots of positive reviews.

I haven't actually had a chance to listen to anything other than the first few seconds of The Hold Steady's new album, "Stay Positive," before I started typing this, so I can't speak for its quality. The very fact that there is new The Hold Steady material available (legally — the album leaked in May) a full month before its official release date is exciting and definitely "dig"-worthy. The Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis band is streaming the full album on its Myspace page. [via The AV Club, via Stereogum]

What's that? You've never heard of The Hold Stead? They're a-MAAAAAA-zing, bro! Indie music snobs (and Hurley) have pretty much come to a consensus that their last CD, "Boys and Girls in America," is the single greatest thing to come out of 2006. But the thing is, I think the band is really accessible beyond just us snobs. I'm not sure why everybody in America doesn't love The Hold Steady. The music all killer, classic rock riffs that should please any E Street fan. Craig Finn's lyrics are smart enough to qualify as poetry but, subject-wise, hit upon such populist subjects as partying, drugs, sex and, uh, Catholicism. Enjoy, folks!